The Mental Floss History of the World..., Steve Wiegand
The Mental Floss History of the World..., Steve Wiegand
List: $21.99 | Sale: $15.39
Club: $10.99

The Mental Floss History of the World
An Irreverent Romp Through Civilization's Best Bits

Author: Steve Wiegand, Erik Sass

Narrator: Johnny Heller

Unabridged: 15 hr 31 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 11/11/2008

Synopsis

About 60,000 years ago, the first Homo sapiens were just beginning their move across the grasslands and up the ladder of civilization. Everything since then, as they say, is history. Just in case you were sleeping in class that day, the geniuses at mental_floss magazine have put together a hilarious (and historically accurate) primer on everything you need to know—and that means the good stuff.

Twelve core chapters of world history tackle everything from civilization's baby steps in the Fertile Crescent to the Not-Really-That-Dark-Unless-You-Lived-in-Europe Ages to A World United by Terror and TV. From the Golden Haemorhoids of the Philistines (punishment from above) to the likely namesake of the cartoon elephant Babar (a Mongol prince) to the most pressing language translation issues facing the menus of today ("carp" vs. "crap"), all of history's most interesting bits have finally been handpicked and roasted to perfection.

About Steve Wiegand

Steve Wiegand is an award-winning political journalist and history writer. He's worked as a reporter and columnist for the San Diego Evening Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Sacramento Bee, where he currently writes a thrice-weekly political column. During his career, he has interviewed four presidents and six California governors. Wiegand is a graduate of Santa Clara University, where he majored in American literature and US history. He also holds a Master of Science degree in Mass Communications from California State University, San Jose. Wiegand is the author of U.S. History For Dummies, Sacramento Tapestry, and Papers of Permanence, and a contributing author to mental_floss presents: Forbidden Knowledge.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Kam on May 11, 2011

I picked this book up on a whim. Admittedly, the cover had a lot to do with it: a carnival-like mish-mash of notable historical figures, and the promise of history's "best bits" somewhere in there. As a historical buff, there was absolutely no way I would not pick this up, and I did. After having jus......more

Goodreads review by Kerry on December 29, 2014

Why did I love this book one may ask? Mostly BC in the very first page they mention that humans love to eat and "apparently like to have sex.... A LOT", as well as alluding to prostitution. Yeah, that's all you need to get immediate interest from 99% of the world's population. Which is why I use suc......more

Goodreads review by Dave on January 13, 2009

It is obvious, of course, that one cannot contain the history of the world in a 400-page book, so the question is why would one ever try? But try they have, and Will Pearson and Mangesh Hattikudur have delivered a humorous and fairly enjoyable trip through the history of the world in their 2008 book......more

Goodreads review by Janet on May 05, 2009

This is a tough one for me to review. I listened to this book on CD during a long car ride, which definitely had some affect on my rating...I was pretty sick of the narrator's voice by the end of 15 hours and it wasn't quite what I had expected. I picked this "book" up based on the teasers on the ba......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer on September 06, 2009

There's so much in this book that I couldn't possibly have learned it all on the first read, but now I can say brilliant things at parties like, "The Mongols ... uh, existed. Around ... 1100. I think!" The jokes were a little hokey at times, but this book served its intended purpose, which was to ge......more

Add to Cart
Add to Wish List